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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kurmanji Kurds of Syria

The Kurmanji Kurds of Syria, numbering approximately 1,580,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are ethnic Kurds who primarily speak Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), the most widely spoken Kurdish dialect. They are an Indigenous people, in the Kurd people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Kurdish, Northern.

Kurmanji Kurds in Lebanon photo
Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Kurmanji Kurd

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Kurdish, Northern (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 1,580,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012204

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kurdish, Northern
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kurdish, Northern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds

The Kurmanji Kurds are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds

The Kurmanji Kurds are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Kurmanji Kurds

The Kurmanji Kurds are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kurmanji Kurds of Syria

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
readLuke 19:10

Pray that those who are lost will respond to the One who came to seek and save the lost, and experience the joy of being found.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that many will take refuge in the Lord and be His people who share the good news of salvation in Jesus with others.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
readTitus 3:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and might struggle with temptation to trust in their own works, they will remember that it is only because of God's mercy that they have been saved.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Kurd, Northern (Kurmanji) (ROP3 - 105458) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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